23 September, 2013

Fancy That - A Review

Let me start by saying, I wasn't planning to write a review for the blog. I had a test this morning, and I still have a project and paper to write for Wednesday, so blogging seemed kind of, well, silly. But here I am. It was that good. For serious.

Sunday I had the good fortune of going for tea at Fancy That in Walpole and it was exceptionally lovely. Being such a crazy detail oriented person, I found myself noticing all the little touches in every nook and cranny of the experience and I have to admit, I was highly impressed. From the actual decor, to the table settings, to the food. And the tea, oh my! What a selection!

We were brought our tea, hot, steeped and ready to be poured, by our very friendly server. The food was presented beautifully and it was delicious. From the top tier there was a cinnamon and raisin scone, it was flavorful and yummy with clotted cream and jam, as well as a slice of lemon cake. The lemon cake was one of my favorite things on the tray, it was moist and the flavor was strong without being abrasive, as citrus can sometimes be. The middle tier was our yummy finger sandwiches. Cucumber, ham and cheese, and chicken salad. The cucumber was very good; while the chicken salad was good it wasn't memorable. It was lacking something, fresh herbs perhaps, something to set it apart from just an ordinary chicken salad with cranberries. The ham was the star in my opinion. There was a great balance of flavors from the salty ham, zingy mustard, and the pumpernickel and rye swirl bread put it over the top for me. On to that bottom tier, everyone's favorite, dessert! Well, this everyone's favorite, that's for sure. It had an adorable little pink vanilla cupcake. I'm a picky cake girl. I expect perfection from cakes and this was spot on. The cake was moist, had a light crumb and great flavor. The frosting melted in your mouth and tasted of real vanilla. There was a macaron, which I always love. This one was orange, which I kind of wasn't exactly excited about. I'm not the biggest fan of orange as a stand out flavor. As a subtle undertone, it's fine, but star of the show, no thanks. I was pleasantly surprised, the orange flavor was subtle and the flavor of the almonds seemed to be more of what hit me. I loved it. The best dessert, in my opinion, was the raspberry mousse cup. Holy mother goose, was it delicious. I could have eaten 100 of these. Delicious on every front.

The gift shop, which is the room you enter in to when you arrive, it top notch. The china collection available is amazing, I kept thinking I could easily drop $100 in here on tea cups. But, I was a good girl and miraculously didn't. I was elated to finally, after years of searching antique shops all over New England, able to find a beautiful daffodil tea cup and promptly snatched it up.

I'm definitely eager to go back. The food and service was excellent and the owner and her husband were kind, gracious hosts. Places like this are hard to find in a world driven by a rushing, bustling undercurrent of consume, and consume fast. Fancy That is like a sanctuary, where a calming, hot cuppa and some refreshments are waiting to see you through. It was a real treat!

What's on my bedside table?

What time is it in New England?

Fabulous Quotes About Food Love

Food is so primal, so essential a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends. - Jasmine Heiler

Some people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative as drawing, or wood carving, or music. -Julia Child

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. -Doug Larson

Italians are practical with cooking; they dont want to spend the whole day in the kitchen, they want to drink wine and make love. -Tyler Florence

I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work.Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm. - Robert Farrar Capon

There is no sight on Earth more appealing than the sightof a woman making dinner for someone she loves. - Thomas Wolfe

Americans are just beginning to regard food the way the French always have. Dinner is not what you do in the evening before something else. Dinner IS the evening. - Art Buchwald

No mean woman can cook well. It calls for a generous spirit,a light hand, and a large heart. -Paul Gauguin

I hate people who are not serious about their meals. - Oscar Wilde

I am not a chef. I am not even a trained or professional cook. My qualification is as an eater. -Nigella Lawson

Food is not about impressing people. It's about making them feel comfortable. - Ina Garten

Cooking is at once one of the simplest and most gratifying of the arts, but to cook well one must love and respect food. - Craig Claiborne

I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian. - Unknown

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a 'What the hell?' attitude. - Julia Child

A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch. - James Beard

Did you ever stop to taste a carrot? Not just eat it, but taste it? You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie. -Astrid Alauda

Rice is born in water and must die in wine. -Italian Proverb

The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me and I to them. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will's freedom after it. -Aldous Huxley

Cheese - milk's leap toward immortality. -Clifton Fadiman

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